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Pig Exports

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the two consignments of pigs

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exported on 19 February 1996 via the port of Hull were accompanied by the approved journey plans and export health certificates required under EU and United Kingdom law. [20617]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 17 March 1997:]: Without further details of the consignments to which the hon. Member refers, it is not possible to give an answer.

Slaughterhouses

Dr. Strang: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all prosecutions of abattoirs for breaches of hygiene legislation that have (a) taken place and (b) succeeded, in each year since 1985. [21679]

Mr. Douglas Hogg: In Great Britain, local authorities were responsible for the enforcement of hygiene regulations in abattoirs until 1 April 1995, when responsibility was transferred to the newly established Meat Hygiene Service. Information on any prosecutions of abattoirs which may have been brought between 1985 and 1 April 1995 is not held centrally. Since 1 April 1995, whilst there have been several prosecutions on BSE-related matters, there have, to date, been no prosecutions of abattoirs for failure to comply with the hygiene requirements of the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995, as amended.

In Northern Ireland, no prosecutions have been brought against operators of abattoirs for failure to comply with the hygiene requirements of the relevant regulations in the period 1985 to date.

Mrs. Golding: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all those persons who are permitted to make unannounced visits to abattoirs in the United Kingdom to ensure that health and hygiene standards are upheld. [18866]

Mrs. Browing: I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Mr. Ainger: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many slaughterhouses are currently operating in the United Kingdom; of those how many do not have EU approval but are operating under a United Kingdom Government derogation; and how many were operating in April 1995 and of those how many were operating under a United Kingdom derogation. [20517]

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Mrs. Browning [holding answer 17 March 1997]: For slaughterhouses licensed in Great Britain under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 and in Northern Ireland under the Agricultural Produce (Meat Regulation and Pig Industry) Act (Northern Ireland) 1962, the available information is as follows:

Type of approval	End March 1995	1 March 1997
Export approved	133	244
National market only
Permanently derogated low throughput(28)	211	205
Temporarily derogated low throughput(29)		7
Temporarily derogated full throughput(29)	174	(30)26
Total	518	482

Information on the position in other member states is not available.

(28) Premises which meet the EC structural requirements for low throughput plants.

(29) Premises subject to a temporary derogation from structural requirements.

(30) Of which 9 licences revoked for failure to comply with temporary derogation but operating under appeal provisions.

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many abattoirs are currently (a) EC approved and (b) non-approved but operating with a derogation. [20728]

Mrs. Browning: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) today.

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the derogations to continue slaughtering animals expire for each of the non-EC approved abattoirs. [20758]

Mrs. Browning: Under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 as amended, non EC export approved premises (permanently derogated low throughput) are required to meet less onerous structural requirements than those with EC export approval (full throughput).

At 1 March 1997, the number of slaughterhouses and cutting premises in England subject to a temporary derogation was as follows:

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	Full throughput		Low throughput
Licensed premises(31)	Slaughterhouse	Cutting premises	Slaughterhouse	Cutting premises
Total numbers by type	202	226	180	126
Of which subject to temporary derogation	(32)22	(33)13	7	(34)7

(31) Some of these are combined premises. For combined slaughterhouse/cutting premises the numbers are included under slaughterhouse, for combined cutting premises/cold stores the numbers are included under cutting premises.

(32) Including one premises with an extension of time in principle to end December 1997 (subject to review in September 1997) and one request for a further extension of time under consideration; nine licences revoked for failure to comply with temporary derogations operating under appeal provisions.

(33) Including one premises with an extension of time to end December 1997; three licences revoked for failure to comply with temporary derogations operating under appeal provisions.

(34) Including one licence revoked for failure to comply with temporary derogation operating.

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Of those temporary derogations not subject to an extension of time or where licences have not yet been revoked, approximately half the premises could complete

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the necessary work to comply with the structural requirements of the Regulations within the next four to six weeks. Licence revocation action will be taken against

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those who do not. For the remainder, urgent action is in hand to revoke the premises licences with the minimum of further delay.

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many abattoirs in each member state of the European Union are (a) EC approved and (b) non-approved but operating under derogations. [20833]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 18 March 1997]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) today.

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the abattoirs and cutting plants which have derogations will be required to comply fully with EC requirements. [20832]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 18 March 1997]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him today.

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many (a) unsuccessful and (b) successful prosecutions were brought against operators of abattoirs and cutting plants for infringements of the relevant hygiene regulations in the period 1979 to 1995.[20956]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 18 March 1997]: In Great Britain, local authorities were responsible for the enforcement of hygiene regulations in abattoirs and cutting plants until 1 April 1995, when responsibility was transferred to the newly established Meat Hygiene Service. Information on prosecutions which may have been brought between 1979 and 1995 is not held centrally.

In Northern Ireland, no prosecutions were brought against operators of abattoirs or cutting plants for infringements of the relevant hygiene regulations in this period.

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the extent to which derogations granted to abattoirs for structural shortcomings impinge on hygiene requirements.[20830]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 18 March 1997]: For premises operating under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995, detailed requirements for structure are laid down in schedules 1 to 6 of the regulations and, for hygiene, in schedules 7 to 11 and 13 to 15. Irrespective of any structural requirements, fresh meat produced in premises subject to derogations has to satisfy the hygiene requirements laid down.

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the (a) statutory instruments, (b) circulars and (c) other official guidance from Ministers to local authorities between 1979 and 1995 concerning the duties and responsibilities of environmental health officers towards abattoirs and cutting plants. [20831]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 18 March 1997]: I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Meat Hygiene

Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he was notified about the data relating to E. coli contamination arising

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from poor animal hygiene at abattoirs, contained in the report prepared by Mr. Swann for the Meat Hygiene Service. [20038]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 13 March 1997]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 20 March 1997, Official Report, column 715.[19571]

Sir Colin Shepherd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his Department collates data on the professional qualifications of meat hygiene inspectors. [20734]

Mrs. Browning: The Department does not hold any data on the professional qualifications of meat inspectors.

Meat hygiene inspectors are employed by the Meat Hygiene Service and I have asked the chief executive to reply to your question direct.

Sir Colin Shepherd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the veterinarians who carried out the assessment of standards in slaughterhouses, commissioned by the Meat Hygiene Service, agreed with Mr. Bill Swann's summary of their findings. [20738]

Mrs. Browning: The assessment of standards you refer to was part of the hygiene advice team exercise carried out by the Meat Hygiene Service. I have asked the chief executive to reply to you direct.

Sir Colin Shepherd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many of the employees of the general secretary of the Association of Meat Inspectors have been offered a contract by the Meat Hygiene Service; [20733]

(2) when Mr. Bill Swann applied for the position as head of operations of the Meat Hygiene Service; [20737]

(3) when the general secretary of the Association of Meat Inspectors tendered for a meat hygiene service contract; and what was the outcome. [20739]

Mrs. Browning: Staffing matters are the responsibility of the Meat Hygiene Service and I have asked the chief executive to reply to you direct.

Letter from Johnston McNeill to Sir Colin Shepherd, dated 21 March 1997:

As Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) your Parliamentary Questions to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries enquiring a) whether details of the professional qualifications of Meat Hygiene Inspectors (MHIs) are collated; b) whether the veterinary surgeons who carried out an assessment of standards in slaughterhouses agree with Bill Swann's findings; c) about the number of the employees of the General Secretary of the Association of Meat Inspectors (AMI) who have been offered a contract by the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS); d) when Bill Swann applied for the position of Head of Operations, and e) when the General Secretary of the AMI tendered for an MHS contract and what was the outcome, have been passed to me for reply. [20734] [20738] [20733] [20737] [20739]

To take each of your questions in turn:

a) All MHIs must be qualified by gaining, through examination, in the Certificate in Meat Inspection approved by the Royal Society of Health for England and Wales and the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland for Scotland. Copies of the appropriate Certificates in Meat Inspection are held on the individual's personnel files by the MHS.

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b) The Hygiene Advice Teams (HAT) completed a detailed analysis of the operational hygiene and animal welfare standards at all licensed slaughterhouses (approximately 615 plants). As part of this exercise, Bill Swann undertook many visits (although in a limited area of the country) and wrote HAT reports on a number of plants. These reports were specific to the plants concerned and the recommendations therein may or may not have agreed with recommendations in reports on other plants. An editorial committee was set up to produce a final report of the HAT exercise. This included a number of veterinarians who had been heavily involved in the exercise. Bill Swann provided a first draft summary of the overall findings of the HAT exercise in respect of red meat plants. The final report was intended to give a summary of the important issues relating to hygiene operation and animal welfare, an indication of the level of industry compliance overall and to include the most important recommendations made by the HAT teams. Mr. Swann's draft was rejected by his colleagues as it gave little indication of the level of compliance, repeated a great deal of material covered by the MHS Operations Manual and provided a long list of deficiencies, many of which only related to a small number of plants.

c) The MHS is aware of 26 employees who worked for the Meat Inspection Agency run by the General Secretary of the AMI who have been offered a contract by the MHS.

d) Bill Swann applied for the position of MHS Head of Operations in September 1995.

e) The MHS is staffed mainly by Meat Hygiene Inspectors who transferred to the agency from their local authority employers under TUPE arrangements on 1 April 1995. Operating without the constraints of local authority boundaries the MHS has the opportunity to deploy its permanently employed staff to the best effect. Where employed staff are not available MHS Regional Managers have the option of contracting staff through a small number of Agencies, one of which includes the General Secretary of the AMI, Mr Comrie.

An invitation to tender for the provision of meat inspection services was issued in December 1994 and the information received was made available to the MHS's Regional Managers to assist in their task of ensuring that meat inspection and relief cover would be available at all licensed establishments at Agency launch via the most cost effective means.

Subsequent to the launch of the MHS, Mr Comrie has provided some relief meat inspection cover to the MHS.

Sir Colin Shepherd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has received from the vice-president of the Association of Meat Inspectors regarding hygiene standards in abattoirs. [20735]

Mrs. Browning: I held a meeting on 19 March with representatives of the Association of Meat Inspectors. Two of the vice presidents of the association have disassociated themselves from the sentiments expressed in recent correspondence from the General Secretary of the association, and confirmed their total support for the work of the Meat Hygiene Service in driving up standards in abattoirs.

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